[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17632-17635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06929]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law (Pub. L.) 
104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. 
This notice includes revisions and an extension of OMB-approved 
information collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.
    (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].

    (SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].

I.

    The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than May 
27, 2014. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection instruments 
by writing to the above email address.
    1. Representative Payee Report-Adult, Representative Payee Report-
Child, Representative Payee Report-Organizational Representative 
Payees--20 CFR 404.635, 404.2035, 404.2065, and 416.665--0960-0068. 
When SSA determines it is not in an Old Age Survivors and Disability 
Insurance (OASDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient's 
best interest to receive Social Security payments directly, the agency 
will designate a representative payee for the recipient. The 
representative payee can be: (1) A family member; (2) a non-family 
member who is a private citizen and is acquainted with the beneficiary; 
(3) an organization; (4) a state or local government agency; or (5) a 
business. In the capacity of representative payee, the person or 
organization receives the SSA recipient's payments directly and manages 
these payments. As part of its stewardship mandate, SSA must ensure the 
representative payees are properly using the payments they receive for 
the recipients they represent. The agency annually collects the 
information necessary to make this assessment using the SSA-623, 
Representative Payee Report-Adult, SSA-6230, Representative Payee 
Report-Child, SSA-6234, Representative Payee Report-Organizational 
Representative Payees, and through the electronic Internet application 
Internet Representative Payee Accounting (iRPA). The respondents are 
representative payees of OASDI and SSI recipients.
    Type of Request: Revision to an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
             Modality of collection                  Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-623.........................................       2,811,819               1              15         702,955
SSA-6230........................................       2,968,096               1              15         742,024
SSA-6234........................................         719,469               1              15         179,867
iRPA*...........................................         650,000               1              15         162,500
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    *Totals.....................................       7,149,384  ..............  ..............       1,787,346
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* One Internet platform encompasses all three paper forms.

    2. Statement of Income and Resources--20 CFR 416.207, 146.301-
416.310, 416.704, and 416.708--0960-0124. SSA collects information 
about income and resources on the SSA-8010-BK for SSI claims and 
redeterminations. SSA uses the information to make initial or 
continuing eligibility determinations for SSI claimants or recipients 
who are subject to deeming. The respondents are persons whose income 
and resources SSA may deem (consider to be available) to SSI applicants 
or recipients.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 Average burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-8010-BK.................................         341,000                1               26          147,767
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Authorization to Obtain Earnings Data From the Social Security 
Administration--0960-0602. On occasion, organizations and agencies, 
both public and private, need to obtain detailed earnings information 
about specific Social Security number (SSN) holding wage earners for 
business purposes (e.g. pension funds, State agencies, etc.). 
Respondents use Form SSA-581 to identify the SSN holder whose 
information they are requesting, and provide authorization from the SSN 
holder, when applicable. SSA uses the information provided on Form SSA-
581

[[Page 17633]]

to: (1) Identify the wage earner; (2) establish the period of earnings 
information requested; (3) verify the wage earner authorized SSA to 
release this information to the requesting party; and (4) produce the 
Itemized Statement of Earnings (SSA-1826). The respondents are private 
businesses, state or local agencies, and other federal agencies.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 Average burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-581.....................................          24,000                1                2              800
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. State Death Match Collections--20 CFR 404.301, 404.310-404.311, 
404.316, 404.330-404-341, 404.350-404.352, 404.371; 416.912-0960-0700. 
SSA uses the State Death Match Collections to ensure the accuracy of 
payment files by detecting unreported or inaccurate deaths of 
beneficiaries. Under the Social Security Act (Act), entitlement to 
retirement, disability, wife's, husband's, or parent's benefits 
terminate when the beneficiary dies. The states furnish death 
certificate information to SSA via the manual registration process or 
the Electronic Death Registration Process (EDR). Both death match 
processes are automated electronic transfers between the states and 
SSA. The respondents are the states' bureaus of vital statistics.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Frequency of    Average cost      Estimated
             Modality of collection                  Number of    response  (per    per record      total cost
                                                    respondents       state)          request         burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Death Match--Manual Process...............              17          50,000            $.84        $714,000
State Death Match--EDR..........................              36          50,000            3.01       5,418,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................              53  ..............  ..............      *6,132,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Please note that both of these data matching processes are electronic and there is no hourly burden for the
  respondent to provide this information.

    5. Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Agency Service Delivery--0960-0788. SSA, as part of our continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public to take this opportunity to comment on the ``Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery 
'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et. seq.). This collection was developed as part of a Federal 
Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback 
from the public on service delivery.
    Under the auspices of Executive Order 12862, Setting Customer 
Service Standards, SSA conducts multiple satisfaction surveys each 
year. This proposed information collection activity provides a means to 
garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner, in accordance with SSA's commitment to improving service 
delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean information that provides 
useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical 
surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the 
population of study. This feedback will provide insights into customer 
or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an 
early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where 
communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery 
of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, 
collaborative, and actionable communications between SSA and our 
customers and stakeholders.
    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or 
maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on SSA's services will be unavailable.
    We will only submit a collection for approval under this generic 
clearance if it meets the following conditions: (1) The collections are 
voluntary; (2) the collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government; (3) the collections are non-controversial 
and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies; (4) any 
collection targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents 
who have experience with the program or may have experience with the 
program in the near future; (5) personally identifiable information 
(PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained; 
(6) information gathered will be used only internally for general 
service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended 
for release outside of the agency; (7) information gathered will not be 
used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy 
decisions; and (8) information gathered will yield qualitative 
information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield 
statistically reliable results or used as though the results are 
generalizable to the population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address the target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate,

[[Page 17634]]

methods for assessing potential non-response bias, the protocols for 
data collection, and any testing procedures that were or will be 
undertaken prior to fielding the study. Depending on the degree of 
influence the results are likely to have, such collections may still be 
eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed 
to yield quantitative results.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    The respondents are recipients of SSA services (including most 
members of the public), professionals, and individuals who work on 
behalf of SSA beneficiaries.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households, businesses and 
organizations, State, Local or Tribal government.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,530.
    Below we provide projected average estimates for the next three 
years:
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 125.
    Annual Respondents: 15,177.
    Annual Responses: 15,177.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 41.53 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 10,505 hours.
    II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding the information collections would be 
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this 
publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them 
no later than April 28, 2014. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB 
clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    1. Student Reporting Form--20 CFR 404.352(b)(2); 404.367; 404.368; 
404.415; 404.434; 422.135--0960-0088. To qualify for Social Security 
Title II student benefits, student beneficiaries must be in full-time 
attendance status at an educational institution. In addition, SSA 
requires these beneficiaries to report events that may cause a 
reduction, termination, or suspension of their benefits. SSA collects 
such information on Forms SSA-1383 and SSA-1383-FC to determine if the 
changes or events the student beneficiaries report will affect their 
continuing entitlement to SSA benefits. SSA also uses the SSA-1383 and 
SSA-1383-FC to calculate the correct benefit amounts for student 
beneficiaries. The respondents are Social Security Title II student 
beneficiaries.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
             Modality of completion                  Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-1383........................................          74,887               1               6           7,489
SSA-1383-FC.....................................             113               1               6              11
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................          75,000  ..............  ..............           7,500
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Reporting Events--SSI--20 CFR 416.701-416.732--0960-0128. SSA 
mails the SSA-8150 to SSI recipients when they allege payment or 
eligibility-changing events. Either the SSI recipients fill out the 
paper version of the form, or they complete the form through an in-
person or telephone interview with an SSA employee who records the 
information using the Modernized SSI Claims System. In addition to the 
SSA-8150, recipients may need to submit supplementary documentation 
showing the payment or eligibility-changing events (e.g., payment 
stubs, or rental agreements). SSA uses Form SSA-8150 and the 
supplementary documentation to determine changes in SSI eligibility and 
amounts. The respondents are current SSI recipients, or their 
representatives, who experience a payment or eligibility-changing 
event.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 Average burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-8150....................................          36,767                1                5            3,064
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Government Pension Questionnaire--20 CFR 404.408a--0960-0160. 
The basic Social Security benefits application (OMB No. 0960-0618) 
contains a lead question asking if the applicants are qualified (or 
will qualify) to receive a government pension. If the respondent is 
qualified, or will qualify, to receive a government pension, the 
applicant completes Form SSA-3885 either on paper or through a personal 
interview with an SSA claims representative. If the applicants are not 
entitled to receive a government pension at the time they apply for 
Social Security benefits, SSA requires them to provide the government 
pension information as beneficiaries when they become eligible to 
receive their pensions. Regardless of the timing, at some point the 
applicants or beneficiaries must complete and sign Form SSA-3885 to 
report information about their government pensions before the pensions 
begin. SSA uses the information to: (1) Determine whether the 
Government Pension Offset provision applies; (2) identify exceptions as 
stated in 20 CFR 404.408a; and (3) determine the benefit reduction 
amount and effective date. If the applicants and beneficiaries do not 
respond using this questionnaire, SSA offsets their entire benefit 
amount. The respondents are applicants or recipients of spousal 
benefits who are eligible for or already receiving a Government 
pension.

[[Page 17635]]

    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-3885....................................          76,000                1               13           16,467
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Modified Benefit Formula Questionnaire--0960-0395. SSA collects 
information on Form SSA-150 to determine which formula to use in 
computing the Social Security benefit for someone who receives a 
pension from employment not covered by Social Security. The Windfall 
Elimination Provision (WEP) requires use of a benefit formula replacing 
a smaller percentage of a worker's pre-retirement earnings. However, 
the resulting amount cannot show a difference in the benefit computed 
using the modified and regular formulas greater than one-half the 
amount of the pension received in the first month an individual is 
entitled to both the pension and the Social Security benefit. The SSA-
150 collects the information needed to make all the necessary benefit 
computations. SSA requires the respondents to furnish the information 
on Form SSA-150 so we can calculate their benefits using the data they 
supply. SSA calculates the benefits of applicants who do not respond to 
this questionnaire using the full WEP reduction. SSA employees collect 
this information once from the applicants at the time they file their 
claim. The respondents are applicants for old age and disability 
benefits.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-150.....................................          90,000                1                8           12,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Employee Identification Statement--20 CFR 404.702--0960-0473. 
When two or more individuals report earnings under the same SSN, SSA 
collects information on Form SSA-4156 to credit the earnings to the 
correct individual and SSN. We send the SSA-4156 to the employer to: 
(1) Identify the employees involved; (2) resolve the discrepancy, and 
(3) credit the earnings to the correct SSN. The respondents are 
employers involved in erroneous wage reporting for an employee.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-4156....................................           4,750                1               10              792
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: March 25, 2014.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Director, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-06929 Filed 3-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P